


Terrible Ideas

by bboiseux



Series: Critical Role Relationship Week 2018 [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Chroma Conclave Arc, CritRole RSWeek 2018, Gen, Guard Duty, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, Whitestone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-19 22:42:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14882585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bboiseux/pseuds/bboiseux
Summary: Long days lead into long nights and sometimes any company is welcome company.  Trinket joins Jarett on watch in Whitestone and the presence of the bear leads to reflections on a life lived from terrible idea to terrible idea.A slice of the life of Jarett Howarth during the reign of the Chroma Conclave. (Ficlet)For Relationship Week 2018Reading Time:Abt 4 mins





	Terrible Ideas

The low grumble made Jarett turn from his position perched on the parapet.  He smiled when he saw the hulking form of Trinket approaching.

"Ah, hello, my friend.  Are Vox Machina and your lovely mistress back from the hunt?"

Trinket whined a low rumble and propped his front paws up on the wall and Jarett turned back to the view of Whitestone.

"If you are here, I assume all is well.  I know Vex would not let you wander if there was trouble."  Jarett peered up at the night sky, listening and watching for the telltale signs of the barrier over Whitestone.  He paused like that, for several minutes, taking in the background hum of the city, the distant noises of beasts on the mountains, and, finally, the faint green crackle of something blowing through the barrier.  If he hadn’t been looking for it, he wouldn’t have even noticed.  Still, he worried that one day the wrong someone would be looking for it.  “Well,” he said, continuing the conversation, “At least no immediate trouble.”

He hopped down from the wall and continued his rounds.  Trinket padded behind. 

"Are you joining me tonight?"

Trinket nuzzled Jarett’s hand and Jarett instinctively ran his fingers through the thick coat of fur, giving a firm scratch behind the ears.  Together, they wandered along their path—a path that Jarett knew well.  Wherever Jarett went, Trinket went.  Jarett didn’t understand, but he didn’t complain.

"I must admit that I am happy for the company.  Between you and me, the Whitestone troops are not quite the fighters I'm used to."  He chuckled under his breath and gave Trinket a wink.  "Nothing compared to you, of course."

During the day, he trained the fledgling soldiers in the fields, alongside Kash, Trish, and the others.  It was often painful, the trainees’ skills far too underdeveloped to be of any real use in defense of Whitestone, but the successes, ah, they were a delight.  The boy Kynan was showing some real promise.  Just today, he had successfully hit a target from over ninety meters away.  If he could control his fear, he might be good in the defense.  One day.

And now, at night, Jarett walked the perimeter, keeping an eye on the other guards, watching the sky, listening.  He was convinced that the attack would be invisible, but not silent.  Sounds would be the key.  A roar, a rush of wings, something would give it away.  Perhaps it was delusion, but he had to hope.

They wandered upstairs, downstairs, outdoors, indoors.  Once, Jarett ducked through a secret passage and had to spend ten minutes helping Trinket push his body through the tiny space.  Trinket grumbled mournfully the entire way.

Finally, as sunrise approached, the two of them climbed the highest tower of the castle.  Jarett leaned over the wall and looked west, waiting for the first light. When it came, he could see farmers moving through the fields, soldiers changing guard, smoke beginning to rise from chimneys.  The world beginning to wake up.  In this moment, right before the sun tipped above the horizon, there was a certain quality to the air that Jarett could never quite put his fingers on.  Like fluid ice, this morning air was weighty.  The first rays of the encroaching sun never quite leaped forward like one would expect but seemed to drip across every crevice of the land.

Next to him, Trinket yowled, long and guttural, into the morning light and Jarett leaned against the wall, absentmindedly petting Trinket’s back.  “I do not know why you stayed with me tonight.  But I am glad you did.”

He gazed out over the dawn draped landscape.  “You know, my friend, I look out at all of this and I think about every terrible idea I had that brought me here.  If I hadn’t been such a lovestruck idiot and gone after a girl above my station, where would I be now?”  He shook his head.  “When it comes down to it, I’ve lived my life from terrible idea to terrible idea.  The girl, the boat, the gang.  Your Vox Machina, if I’m honest.”  He shrugged.  “Life has been much more interesting for all those terrible ideas.  Think how much I’ve traveled!”

Cocking his head at Trinket, Jarett said, “I wonder why I didn’t follow the terrible idea of jumping in bed with your mistress when I had the chance? That would have been quite the adventure.”

Trinket bellowed and rose up on his hind legs.

“Woah, woah.”  Jarett held up his lands, laughing nervously.  “You’re right, my friend, that would have been too good an idea for me.”

Trinket sank back down and huffed disapprovingly.

 “You should stick around with me, my friend.  You’d keep my life interesting, I think.”

**Author's Note:**

> I am also [bboiseux on tumblr](https://bboiseux.tumblr.com/).
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